


Tìloho

by IsileeGilbert



Category: Avatar (2009), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:02:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24444019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IsileeGilbert/pseuds/IsileeGilbert
Summary: Charlie is surprised to see something falling out the sky one day. What awaits him?
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	Tìloho

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I own neither the world of Harry Potter nor Avatar! But I kinda wanna go to Charlie's dragon reservation...

[Written for Quidditch League Daily Prophet Issue 7]

Prompt: The Adventure Continues in Avatar!

* * *

**Tìloho**

Mouth gaping wide in a huge yawn, Charlie's slouched figure slumped out of his room as he mussed his shoulder-length hair and gathered it into a casual top knot. He scratched at his belly as he stared at the tray of eggs, wondering if he could even be bothered to make breakfast. Lifting his shoulders in a half-hearted shrug, he went to change into his Dragonologist robes instead and headed out of the cottage with his work satchel slung across his body. The deep blue of the sky was just bleeding into beautiful hues of blood orange and yellow, and the birds of the morning began chirping their merry song.

Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he whistled along in a jolly tune as he ambled to the nearest tavern for a quick breakfast of eggs and bacon, and washed it down with a goblet of pumpkin juice. Then he grabbed his leather satchel and headed for the reservation grounds. As he trudged on over the grassy plains, he suddenly saw two enormous and misshapen figures hurtling through the sky at breakneck speeds towards the nearby forest that lined the Romanian Longhorn Dragon Reservation. Charlie watched in alarm as they seemed unable to stop themselves or slow down, even though he could faintly make out one of the shapes to have wings. They wouldn't be able to land properly and were likely to have broken bones at the rate they were going. Looking around, he saw none of the other Dragonologists were around—the hour still too early for most to be awake. He started in a sprint, heading into the forest towards where he estimated they would crash.

Panting hard with his satchel thumping in a constant rhythm against his back and his dragon-hide work boots drumming a quick and steady beat on the forest floor, Charlie swerved around a copse of trees as he recognised a flash of blue that he saw from one of the figures earlier in a crumpled heap. He skidded on some leaves in his hurry to get to them, and a green-and-black-marked head rose from the ground to look at him. Charlie stopped in his tracks.

The head of the creature was just slightly shorter in length to his height. As it struggled to shuffle forward, its large body was slowly revealed as well as the shoulders of what looked to be huge wings. It was a creature he had never seen before. But that wasn't what made him pause.

It was the look of a fierce warrior in the creature's golden eyes that enraptured him; glinting at him like he was prey even though it was the one that was in a vulnerable position. He could see himself faintly reflected in its narrowed pupils—the image of a foolish prey courting its demise. As he relaxed his body into a non-threatening posture and slowly approached the creature, it bared its incredibly sharp teeth and even snapped at him once he got very close.

Charlie wasn't deterred.

'Beautiful,' he murmured reverently. For it _was_ beautiful to Charlie. Of all the dragons he had ever seen, this was by far the most arresting. His hands hovered lightly over the skin of the dragon, not daring to touch it just yet in case it got aggressive and hurt itself in the process. It was a gorgeous turquoise green interwoven with hues of blue, with black markings that extended to the rest of its body, and its chin had a large tough-looking red protrusion. Its hide was smooth without scales and glossy like that of a snake's, but Charlie thought it looked about as thick and sturdy as the average dragon's.

'A new breed of dragon I haven't seen before?' He was perplexed, as there had never been mention of such a dragon. He approached the side of its head, and one golden eye glared at him balefully. It looked to be seriously injured in its wings and he was just wondering how to transport it to the reservation himself when the other figure that had been mostly hidden behind this one shifted. Charlie startled. He had forgotten about the other creature!

Hurrying around to the other side of the dragon, he was surprised to see that there was another similar looking dragon but with a different colouring. This one was deep blue with maroon and black markings.

'A different gender...?' Charlie mused. Then he quickly backed away in surprise. For there on top of the blue dragon was a humanoid figure. The rider was twice his size and had blue skin with neatly braided long, black flowing hair and cat-like nose and ears.

Quickly looking them over, he noticed both were unconscious, but all three seemed to have difficulty breathing. With a whisper, his Patronus was hastily sent to the few Healers on the reservation and he waited anxiously for them as each breath of the three strange figures grew increasingly laboured. He did not know if they would be dangerous when they were fully conscious, but he knew there was no way he could simply leave them like that when they were so obviously suffering.

Soon, a group of Healers Apparated to the clearing nearby and hurried over to assess the situation. The strange dragons were loaded up into the cages they usually used for hurt dragons, and the even stranger humanoid figure was gently placed onto an enlarged stretcher. The party made their way back to the reservation where the dragons were safely ensconced into the indoor infirmary enclosure, and the humanoid figure was brought to the infirmary.

Charlie now paced in front of the Infirmary. He had been promptly kicked out when one of the Healers had realised from their readings that the difficulty in breathing was due to a difference in the quality of air they needed. All the Healers had then been activated to immediately work on a solution to rectify it.

The bustle in the room had worried him, when it meant they still had not found a solution, but the current silence made him even antsier. Just then, Senior Healer Greenacre stepped out of the Infirmary, a look of consternation on her face. Charlie's heart dropped into the pits of his stomach as he felt it roil.

'Charlie, you have to hurry,' she said, panic in her voice. 'The air they breathe is not from around here. You need to cast a Self-Regulating Bubble Head Charm for them—the dragons. I don't think they'll last much longer.'

Without another word, he turned on his heels and quickly Apparated to the dragon infirmary enclosure. Barking out orders, he instructed the other Dragonologists to help him with the spell. 'Dobrescu, Sergei, Lucas, to the blue one. Self-Regulating Bubble Head Charm! Zaria, with me!'

They leapt into action, quickly casting the charm on the dragons, ensuring it surrounded the base of their necks. They had found it curious at first, that these dragons would have nostrils—or rather, they looked more like the blowholes of dolphins—in the juncture between their necks and shoulder blades. With the dragons so large, it was difficult to shape the Bubble Head Charm properly, since their breastbones protruded in a strange way.

When they finished setting the charm in place, Charlie leaned against the wall, finally able to properly catch his breath from the past hectic half hour. Running his eyes slowly over the forms of the dragons, he found himself drawn towards the green one. It was so breathtakingly _beautiful_.

The dragons were each about two-thirds the size of a Ukrainian Ironbelly, and were much larger than the average dragon. Shimmering gold markings intertwined across the span of its wings, and the ends of the wings themselves were like intricately lattice-cut lace.

As he reached out to caress the lace-like part of the wing, he just barely managed to duck and dart away as one familiar golden eye glared fiercely at him. The green dragon reared up, lunging at him, jaws snapping and wings flapping wildly at him.

'Ow!' His right palm was slashed by the dragon's teeth as it nipped at him, but he had no time to tend to the bleeding wound. Charlie nimbly dodged the rushing talon that came crashing down onto the ground right where he previously stood. His lips tilted up crookedly on one side. This was what he knew; this was what he was familiar with. The petty anger of a dragon wouldn't deter him.

Letting his instincts take over, he jumped over the sweeping wing, ducked under its chin as it came to snap at him, vaulted onto its shoulder blade, and swung his leg over its back. He was careful not to step onto the Bubble Head Charm they had placed earlier. The neck was so wide he could barely stretch his legs around it to steady himself. He flailed when the dragon reared back, but quickly grasped onto what looked like feelers that protruded from the top of its head.

'Whoa, whoa, calm down!' he tried to soothe.

Without rhyme or reason, Charlie allowed gravity to pull him down the dragon's back as he slid his grip towards the end of the feelers. He didn't know what possessed him to do so, but he curled his bleeding fist around the strange wriggling tentacular things that were at the end of the feeler. His mind was grossed out and intrigued by such a strange sight, but he would later swear in that moment he had no conscious control over his actions. There was a high-pitched shriek from the dragon, and Charlie's last thought was, _That doesn't sound like a dragon's roar_.

All of a sudden, his mind seemed to contort and stretch to accommodate a different presence. He could feel it expanding in his mind and finding a place to settle in. He felt like he should fight it, the invasion of his mind, but he could not bring himself to do so when the warmth of the other presence surrounded him. It washed through his limbs, and he felt ever more aware of everything in the vicinity. His sight, hearing, touch, and other senses were _opened_ to a wider world.

Everything became silent around him. All he was aware of was the breath in his own chest rising and falling in tandem with the sway of the dragon beneath him.

'You have _tsaheylu_ with the ikran.' A deep voice resonated in the enclosure. Charlie looked up, startled.

The humanoid figure stood proudly in the shadow of the small doorway of the enclosure, arms crossed over his chest—for Charlie could see now that it was a he, albeit very naked except for a loincloth, a dagger sheath across his chest, and an array of accessories hanging from his neck.

Charlie leapt off from the back of the now calm dragon, and deftly landed on the sandy ground. 'You're awake! Good, good. You are...?'

'I am Ikxtawe te Lacretxyu Tstiwate'itan.'

'Pardon?' Charlie walked closer to properly see the figure. He gasped, 'You have a tail!'

A sigh. 'You may call me Ikxtawe. I am of the Na'vi people from Pandora. We are completely different from Earth, and also speak a different language. The Na'vi language.'

Charlie's face was a mixture of amazement and bewilderment. Ikxtawe continued, 'Those are ikran.' He gestured to what Charlie had thought were dragons. 'The one sleeping is my Skxom, the other one is now yours. You may name her what you wish.'

Charlie was shocked. 'Mine? What do you mean?'

'You have _tsaheylu_ with her. It is a bond between the minds. You do not have the _eltungawng_ , the brain connector, but you have something different to connect with the ikran. She is yours now. Once _tsaheylu_ is made, ikran will fly with only one hunter in the whole life.'

Ikxtawe started forward, pushing Charlie towards the ikran he had bonded with. 'Quick, once _tsaheylu_ is made, you must take her and fly. You are wasting time!'

Charlie knew he did not fully yet comprehend the importance of it, but he clambered onto the back of the turquoise ikran anyway. 'How do I fly?' he asked, worried when he knew there was no way to control a normal dragon's flight.

'Hold onto her and think with your mind!' Ikxtawe called.

'What?' Charlie said as he tried to grab onto the antennae of the ikran. He quickly spelled the sliding roof of the enclosure open.

'This is completely different from a broom! Am I supposed to just think _Fly_?' Just as he pronounced the word, the ikran lunged into the air and Charlie was yelling his lungs out as they sped upwards into the clouds.

But he could feel the presence of what he now knew was the ikran in his mind clear as day, so he tried to communicate with her. _Level out_ , he thought, and she did.

He gave a bark of laughter, sheer happiness filling his heart to bursting. He never thought he would be able to fly a dragon in his life! Granted, it wasn't actually a dragon, but it was close enough. He chuckled to himself as he felt the wind whipping past him and teasing his hair free of its constraints. It blew all around his face and he couldn't stop the wide grin spreading across his face.

Eventually, he knew he had to return back to the dragon reservation, especially since it wasn't safe to be exposed for so long. He gently guided the ikran back to the reservation, and as they landed back in the enclosure, he knew one thing for certain. They were connected, and all the broken bits of the world fell into place. Charlie felt like he finally found his companion for life.

He looked at Ikxtawe with a bright spark in his eyes. 'What is the word for "a surprise" in your Na'vi language?' he asked breathlessly.

' _Tìloho_.'

Charlie caressed his ikran's head and echoed, ' _Tìloho_.'

* * *

Words: 2,351

A/N: I want an ikran!

"Once _tsaheylu_ is made, ikran will fly with only one hunter in the whole life." is from the Avatar movie itself, said by Neytiri.

Na'vi words:

**tsaheylu** [t͡sa.ˈhɛj. lu] _n_. bond (neural connection)

**skxom** [sk'om] _n_. chance, opportunity

**eltungawng** [ˈɛl. tu. ŋawŋ] _n._ brainworm

**tìloho** [tI.ˈlo. ho] _n_. surprise


End file.
